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It has taken me awhile to write about this past Saturday’s competition. Part of me is still recovering physically and mentally and another part of me is still frozen with awe.

On Saturday, April 19th, CrossFit Askal participated in the inaugural Battleground South Bay: Benefitting Train 4 Autism. CrossFit boxes all over the South Bay (and as far as South Gate and Woodland Hills) gathered for this beginner friendly fundraiser competition. Together we raised close to $6,000.

This day was a day of many firsts for me. It was the first time I had helped organize a competition. It was my first time organizing a fundraiser of this magnitude. To top it all off, it was my first time coaching and preparing athletes for a crossfit competition.

Words cannot describe how extremely proud, happy and overwhelming thankful I am to be surrounded by such a talented, hardworking, and supportive community. I, along with my fellow organizers, could not even believe this event sold out.

To our volunteers, thank you so so much for all of your patience and hard work. Perla and Detrick held down the fort at the athlete/volunteer/heat check in. Alicia and Debbie hustled like crazy to set and reset equipment after each heat and workout. Not to mention the dozens of other volunteers who assisted and judged.

To our competitors: Gaby, Mayra, Dana, Noemi, Joelle, Christian, Chris, Raul, Nick, Miguel and Ben… I am extremely proud of each and every one of you. For most of you, it was your first competition and I could not be more proud. To have the courage to sign up for your first competition, put in work and go through with it is quite a feat and took courage and hard work. You, along with the rest of CrossFit Askal, motivate me everyday to be a better athlete, coach, and overall person. Congrats to you all.

CrossFit Askal will have a tent (or two) set up outside the venue. Feel free to put your gym bags, coolers and chairs in our tent, however, we are not responsible for any stolen items so please do not leave any valuables. This will serve as our rest and warm up area and a place for your family and friends to hang out in between workouts.

Food

There will be a food vendor at the event, however, please bring your own drinks, food and snacks just in case food runs out or there’s a long line for food. Bring water.

Spectators

Show your love and support! Wear a CrossFit Askal shirt if you have one or make your own. Make signs and make lots of noise! Please take video and pictures if you can.

Athletes

Early check in is on Friday, April 18 from 7-8pm. We highly recommend taking advantage of this. It will save both you and the event coordinators a lot of time (not to mention less stressful).

Please arrive early to the venue. Make sure you warm up prior to each workout. We will be bringing foam rollers, PVC pipe, some bands (although not sure if we’ll be able to hang them anywhere), jump ropes and some equipment to help warm you up. If you have any of your items we strongly suggest bringing them. There are 13 athletes competing and we have very little equipment and space.

Coach Sam is off limits as he willl be emceeing the event and Coach Ben is competing. Coach Andrea is part of the event committee but will try her best to coach as much as she can. Try to address any questions/concerns now and sometime prior to the day of the event.

In honor of National Autism Awareness Month, many of our athletes are competing this Saturday at Battleground South Bay: Benefitting Train 4 Autism Foundation. Our members have been preparing hard for this competition to show their support for this wonderful cause and we are excited to announce that as of this date, CrossFit Askal has raised $412 and $2,846 as a community.

About Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development and an estimated 1 in 68 children in the U.S have been identified with it. Children with Autism have difficulty with (and not limited to) verbal and non-verbal communication, language development and trouble with learning and social interaction. The severity of ASD can range of varying degrees. Autism is difficult to diagnose since there is no medical test (like a blood test), to help diagnose and instead, autism is diagnosed by child’s behavior and development. There is currently no cure of ASD.

About Train 4 Autism (T4A)

Train 4 Autism is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization founded by parents of children with Autism. T4A is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for research and treatment for those living with Autism and their families through 10ks, 5ks, walks, triathlons, marathons, swimming and cycling events.

About Battleground South Bay

Battleground South Bay (BGSB) is a friendly, beginner focused crossfit-style competition. BGSB’s mission is to bring together the socially conscious crossfit community of the Los Angeles-South Bay area in an effort to raise awareness and funding for a cause dear to our heart, Autism. This Saturday will be the inaugural event and the first of hopefully many to come. Proceeds from this even benefit Train 4 Autism Foundation and it’s crossfit for special needs projects.

Why CrossFit Askal is involved

Many from our community either have a family member with autism, know someone with autism or work with autistic children through schools, programs and organizations. We have experienced firsthand how these funds help keep our local programs alive and benefit the kids and their families. We hope to continue this effort through the monies raised from Battleground South Bay.

For most of you who are competing at Battleground South Bay, this will be your first CrossFit competition. Perhaps it may even be the first competition ever in your life. We are very excited for you and hope you are just as excited as we are. As we get closer to competition date, here are a few tips on how to prepare for your competition.

Continue working out as you would. If you have developed a game plan and/or training schedule with your coach, follow it.

Taper your workouts as you get closer to the day of the competition. I recommend taking a day or two off prior to the competition and instead focus on mobility and form.

Address any mobility issues.

If the competition workout is pre-released, take advantage of reviewing the workout, standards and any additional details of the competition. Make sure you are prepared for those movements and work on any weaknesses.

Get adequate rest and sleep.

If you haven’t done so, dial in your nutrition. If you need help with this, please see a coach.

Prepare for the impossible and be sure to pack your gym bag. Some items I suggest packing:

Prepare food. Food vendors at a competition are not guaranteed and if there are any, there is usually a long line and the food might not be the most beneficial for an athlete. Pack food items your body is already familiar with (do not experiment and eat something new the day before or of the event!) Examples include:

plenty of water

coconut water (or electrolyte supplement)

carbs (baked tubers, Vitargo, fruit, steamed rice, etc)

lean protein source (ex grill chicken)

roasted veggies

nuts or almond butter

Food bars (ex. Perfect Foods Bar, Epic Bars, etc)

protein powder

Most importantly, be prepared to have fun!

If you have any other advice to add to this list, please share and comment below!

As many of you know, CrossFit Askal is teaming up with Train 4 Autism and CrossFit Unexpected in April to raise Autism awareness and funds. Please ‘like’ “Battleground South Bay’s” on Facebook, visit our website and donate for a great cause.

To our members that wish to compete, registration is now open. Please do so immediately. Space will fill up.

Also, a REMINDER, that Bring a Buddy Day is tomorrow, Saturday, February 8 at 9:45am. Feel free to invite family & friends for a FREE, fun, all levels workout… even if they have no fitness experience! Jump ahead and enroll in the class ahead of time.